Top Cuba hotels
Cuban Food Varadero
8 Reviews Directly across the street from Sunbeach, to the east, is a small outdoor patio bar that is open day and night. It is right on the corner, and you have to go down a few steps from the sidewalk to...
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Paladares Havana
21 Reviews We had dinner one night at this private family-owned restaurant (called a paladar), and it was one of our best meals. . Open Noon to Midnight. Most restaurants are owned by the state instead of by...
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State Owned Restaurants Holguín
8 Reviews This place has not been in the guidebooks I have seen as it is relatively new. It has a covered area for dollar paying guests and another patio style area for people wanting to pay in pesos. I thought...
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Government owned restaurants Santiago de Cuba
5 Reviews La Elisabelica is a coffee shop in Plaza Dolores opposite the Restaurant Matamoros on the corner of Calvario and Aguilera . The prices here are in moneda nacional , not in convertibiles but if you are...
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Paladares Trinidad
4 Reviews Here you see the 6 of use who went to this delicious dish, Nele, Wim, Jean, Marijke, John and me. As you can see the table is filled with meat, fish and vegetables and even more then you can eat. We...
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Paladares Cienfuegos
3 Reviews We stopped at a paradar for lunch on our way to Cienfuegos. It had rental cabins, a restaurant, gift shop, and small grocery store. Government owned, of course. The main building had a thatched roof,...
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Sea Food Varadero
3 Reviews Named the best restaurant in Varadero (calle primera #1648 entre 18 y 20 reparto costa Azul Boca de Camarioca in a little local village non dangerous for tourist ..GOOD FOOD CLEAN the best unkonwn...
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La Bodeguita del Medio Havana
17 Reviews The "B del M," as it's also known, oozes history and suffers from overcrowding. Still, it's still a must for any first-time trip to Havana. The collage of famous photos and signatures that crowd the...
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Beach Restaurants Holguín
2 Reviews My favorite was the meal at the Pesquero Beach. It was a nice meal from chicken with oil and garlic...hmmmm when i think about it i can still taste it...yammie. The chickens we grilled on a wooden...
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Paladars Santiago de Cuba
3 Reviews One of my favorite restaurants in Santiago is La Cocinita. Cheap and delicious fried chicken and plantain meals for about $2 USD. Don't freak out when you see the menu the prices are in pesos. I don't...
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Government owned restaurants Trinidad
5 Reviews This Government restaurant is a little outside of town about five kilometers off the paved road along a narrow dirt road....the restaurant is the showpiece of a ranch like setting adjacent to a Nature...
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Government owned restaurant and bars Cienfuegos
1 Review For a fast lunch or just a stop for a beer, look for El Palatino on the main square, just by the south west corner.(It also has a reasonable toilet) It has very high ceilings, patio seating under the...
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Buffet Varadero
4 Reviews I found Cuban food lacked in freshness; very little or no fresh fruit or vegetables. I stayed at Club Puntarena, but I had others say the same about the food in their resorts. The pasta made to order...
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Coppelia Ice Havana
7 Reviews This is a Cuban institution: fabulous ice cream, ridiculously inexpensive prices (for us foreigners at least) and big long line-ups. There is NO point in going to Coppelia's and skipping the line,...
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International Food Varadero
3 Reviews What can I say about dinner in a cave? We had to try it! Parque Josone in Varadero has a bunch of different types of restaurants, La Gruta is the wine cellar oriented one. It's small, intimate, and...
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China Town Havana
10 Reviews China Town, every city has it´s onw. In havana is located on Centro Habana, near the Capitolio. The main things in china town is it´s restorants. There are plenty of them, almost all particulars....
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La Lluvia de Oro Havana
4 Reviews We stayed in Havana in mid February 2008 for 4 nights with my wife. We discovered Lluvia del oro first night and went there for 3 nights. We love Cuban music and in Lluvia del oro, Son Tradicional, a...
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El Floridita. Havana
5 Reviews The El Floridita is not far from El Capitolia - look for the bright red exterior. This is "The Home of the Dacquiri" and, while I am not a huge fan of dacquiris, I must admit that the one I had here...
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Restaurante Gringo Viejo Havana
3 Reviews The ambiance is very nice. The room have a very nice decoration and the service is professional. I tried the "Ropa Vieja". It was very good but I found the fries too cosmopolitan ;). One of te good...
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El Ajibe Havana
3 Reviews I asked the bellboy who worked in the hotel, Where is the good resutaurant? He answerd, 'El ajibe' is good ! near hear ! Chicken was soft and juicy. I ordered combo.chicken and beenrice,which is...
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D'Giovanni Havana
3 Reviews The greatest thing about this restaurant is its location. It is a bit more quiet than some of the other restaurants and the terrace offers a great view of the Fortaleza, which makes for a nice and...
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Los Vitrales Havana
2 Reviews This could be a very good value for money meal but just check before ordering the set menu and stick wit it. We had some salad, very good lobster, rice and mashed potatoes, large glass of wine...
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La Torre Havana
2 Reviews We stopped here after it started raining, initially trying to find a place with a patio and in our discouragement, decided to indulge in some salty and delicious Chinese comfort food. The menu...
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Dona Carmela Havana
1 Review We had our lunch here, in a nice garden, after visiting San Carlos de la Cabaña, which is very close to the paladar. It was relaxing to be having lunch at a garden, after the humid heat during...
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La Vicaria, Havana. Havana
1 Review They have a guarded parking lot across the street if you drive there. It is a training restaurant for Cuban chefs, waiters and waiters. The food was fabulous!!!!! Service, of course, great because...
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Here you see the 6 of use who went to this delicious dish, Nele, Wim, Jean, Marijke, John and me.The table is filled with lot's of different dishes and it's impossible to eat all what you receive on your table. It's a paradise for some one who likes very good food.
A paladar is a family owned restaurant, it’s dining at the house of the Cubans. Some are official restaurants, some of theme are not so official, but one thing they have all in common: the food is very good and you get more then you can eat. Here you see the dish we got in l’Estrella in Trinidad and then I have to tell you that there were two small tables next to this mean table to hold all the food. Delicious and so much that we were full and couldn’t finish our dessert anymore. Try it and you will eat no where else anymore.. Everything that’s fresh and delicious.
These are cheap cafeterias catering to locals for they are priced in Cuban Pesos.There are counters and perhaps some tables. What is available are shown by rectangular removable strips inserted on a board. When an item is finished, the strip is removed.Generally, the food available taste quite bad. Can't blame them. Guess the Cubans do not have much available. It fills the stomach, for me. But they are terribly cheap. For example, it was 26 Cuban Pesos = US$1 at the time I was there. A 'hamburger' cost 2 Pesos... that's almost free. However, I must inform you that when I bought the 'hamburger', I studied the item clasped between the two pieces of tiny stale bread closely. The question in my head was NOT "Er... What kind of MEAT is this??" It was "Er... WHAT is this??" The item was unrecognizable.
For a meal in a Cuban-Peso cafeteria, most likely, you have only 1 item available - Pollo Frito (Fried Chicken).You are never far from Fried Chicken in Cuba. They are really greasy and gross but costs, perhaps 13 to 30 Cuban Pesos (US$0.50 to US$1).
Coppelia ice cream is reputedly of very high quality. There is a branch in Vedado, in Havana and one in Cienfuegos. The queues there are SUPER LONG, especially on weekends. I believe people can queue for hours just to get a chance to enter the parlour.Naturally, tourists with US$ have a different, or rather, NO QUEUE at all. The ice-cream sold to tourists are suddenly priced in US$.
Now, if you are lodged in a 'casa particular', your easiest and safest bet for GOOD MEALS in Cuba are most likely from your host.A sumptuous breakfast is offered (extra, of course). And if you like dinner with them, you can tell them WHATEVER you feel like eating today - pork chops, chicken, fish, etc... and sometimes, even HOW you want it done. Your wish is their command. The meals will cost from US$5 to US$10 and it comes with rice, beans, salad, fritters, even fruits.For me, US$6 was still too much money for a meal. So, I regulated my metabolic rate to take in one such sumptuous dinner on alternate days. No breakfast or lunch, too. The next day, I would go hunt for Cuban-Peso places and subsist on biscuits.
Again, if you have US$ to burn, you can simply walk into any of the state-run restaurants and pay for the over-priced food.Those on package tours are definitely loyal patrons to such restaurants. You will be very well-fed.
The state has allowed some form of private enterprise. A 'paladar' is a home-run restaurant.Naturally, to prevent competition against the state, they are taxed heavily (I heard US$1000 per month!!) and piled high with restrictions.A meal in a 'paladar' usually costs around US$5 to US$10. The restaurant is usually at the back of the huge colonial house. They should have a menu with the prices stated. They will serve you a wide spread of rice, beans, salad, meat (pork or chicken). They are not always easy to spot. And due to the HIGH competition from meals offered by the host of the 'casa particulars', many probably enlist help from touts to whip you off the street and into their 'paladares'. They probably even have menus with various prices, depending on how much they think you might pay and whether you are a walk-in (without commission) or a whip-in (with commission).Things are very...
There are many places that sell 'pizzas'. These are usually prepared beforehand. They are personal-sized, round pieces of bread-sort, covered with tomato-paste and cheese.When you order, the guy will slip them into a make-shift round drum, heated by charcoal, to warm them up.Sometimes, you have to provide your own paper to hold it. Other times, they provide a card-board. To be honest, they taste nothing like the pizza you are used to at home. The only similarity is probably the ROUND shape.They costs between 4 to 6 Cuban Pesos.
Some Cubans open up a window on the side of their houses that face the street and sell snacks like 'Pan de Jamon' (Ham sandwich), 'Pizza', some deep-fried fritters or 'Refresco' (Cold syrup drinks).There is not much variety. But occasionally, some offer 'bigger' meals like 'Pollo frito' (Fried Chicken) or Rice with Pork or Chicken.What are on offer are similary indicated by removable strips on a signboard.They are super cheap. The snacks cost from 1 Peso to 6 Pesos. The meals cost from 15 Pesos and above. They are usually found near the centre with more human traffic and like I said, the snack fills the stomach and the syrup quenches the thirst.
Villa Las Brujas Cuba
2 Reviews and 51 Opinions I could have chosen Okay but some problems, but I still think it falls too short to express how...
NH Parque Central Havana
8 Reviews and 1269 Opinions This is a jewel of a hotel, located just a block or two away from Old Havana, and the shops of Calle...
Iberostar Varadero Varadero
5 Reviews and 1871 Opinions great food gained 5 lbs on the french sauces whatch out for the car rental guy Frank , he takes the...
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Q: We're hoping to do Eastern Cuba in December, we've already done the west. I'm trying to book flights, ideally from Manchester. I...
A: flights domestically it is, aerocaribbean do it, as you are in Manchester check the Cuban tourist office http://www.travel2cuba.co.uk/ hope it helps cheers
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